Salted Paper Prints: Process and Purpose

Description

The salted paper print process, publicly announced by William Henry Fox Talbot in 1839, became the first negative-to-positive photographic technique. The ability to make photographic multiples revolutionized the way information was recorded and disseminated in the mid-19th century. These photographs represent records of the scholarly, social, and artistic endeavors of the time and play an important role in educational research across disciplines.

While many salt prints have survived as beautifully preserved images with rich tonal ranges, they can also be prone to fading and color shifts. New conservation research has assisted our understanding of these fragile items, and renewed interest in the historical and artistic aspects of salt prints has paralleled this preservation research.

Registration

About the Symposium

The Weissman Preservation Center at Harvard Library and the Foundation for the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (FAIC) will present a multi-disciplinary, two-day program that focuses on the preservation, characterization, use, and interpretation of the salt print process, now over 175 years old. Scholarly presentations will include the technical history of the salt print process (both positive and negative images), historical applications of the process for copying and disseminating information, and innovative materials analysis.

About the Workshop

A hands-on workshop hosted by the Northeast Document Conservation Center in nearby Andover will allow participants to explore the chemistry and artistic nuance of creating salted paper prints.

Scholarship Funding

FAIC/Mellon Photograph Workshop Professional Development Scholarship
The Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation (FAIC), with funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, offers scholarships up to $1000, plus waiver of registration fees, to help defray professional development costs for international attendees. Proposed projects are limited to expenses related to attending FAIC Collaborative Workshops in Photograph Conservation. Applications due February 15, 2016 deadline. Please note that February 15 applicants will not be notified of their award status prior to the Plastics Associated with Photographic Materials program. Award recipients will be reimbursed for cost associated with attending the program.

FAIC/NEH Individual Professional Development Scholarships
The Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation (FAIC), with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), offers scholarships up to $1000 to help defray professional development costs for individual members of AIC who are U.S. residents. Proposed projects are limited to expenses related to attending FAIC workshops supported by the NEH.

Support

Without support, the registration fee for the symposium would be $370. FAIC relies on your contributions to support these and its many other programs.

Funding for this program comes from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation fund for Collaborative Workshops in Photograph Conservation and a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Additional funding comes from the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artist Works Endowment for Professional Development, which was created by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and is supported by donations from members of the American Institute for Conservation and its friends. Courses are made possible with the assistance of many AIC members, but no AIC membership dues were used to create or present this course.